Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Bell Peppers

When I left India, I knew absolutely no cooking. I was a little nervous that I might be homesick for the food. Being vegetarian, the thought of being in the then-Meat and Potatoes-eating midwestern United States, was going to be a little difficult.

So, I armed myself exactly a week before I left with 10 recipes that are easy to make (under 20 minutes) and easy to prepare (minimal authentic Indian ingredients - since I wasn't sure if there would be an Indian store around). One of those was spicy potatoes, and another was this one.

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the cumin, salt, asafetida and bell peppers and stir fry until the bell pepper is 3/4 done. Add the gram flour and toss to combine with the bell peppers. It will start to form a crunchy brown layer (which is so good!). Remove from heat.

This is perfect for a tortilla filling, and tastes great with steamed rice.

What's everyone in the Recipe Marathon up to on Day 5? Let's see:Lakshmi has a delightful mango and chocolate "fool". Siri made a great-looking Hash Brown Melt. Divya shared her lovely carrot rice. Valli got some meat into the mix with her Mutton Fry. Swati got inspired by Beckham to make some Aloo Gobi! . After looking at Dhivya's post, you might have to go for a run! :) (to burn away the "virtual" calories - absolutely gorgeous!). And let's not forget Bhags' Spanakopitta and Ranji's Banana Chips!

I really love the flavour of bell peppers and this is a dish I really love, great with chapathis. Sadly my husband and daughter don't like the vegtable and so will not even try this dish!Well, they don't know what they're missing.

I think mid westerners are very warm people of all in this country....but i didnt know about this eating habit here....anyways i need to search on this.bell pepper sabzi looks nice....well I am cooking since I was in 6th grade, so i dont get any compliments on my cooking....:(

@ Bellini - Thanks! hmm...maybe I can substitute with oats! I'll let you know how it turns out...

@ Aparna - Yeah, my daughter doesn't enjoy it either. I've been trying to incorporate it in her diet gradually.

@ Valli - Thanks!

@ Ranjani - Sure. Enjoy!

@ Rachel - Thanks! Yes, its amazing how when you don't have a choice, you can suddenly start cooking well! lol! Since I was a student, I didnt have much time either, so these dishes were great on the time factor.

@ Jayashree - That's the thing, I think rasam and sambar are far more difficult to master than things like this! So hats off to you!

@ Sra - Yes, I agree!

@ Siri - Thanks dear!

@ Sagari - thanks!

@ Ranji - you've gotta try it if you haven't had it - its a delicious combination

@ Divya - thank you!

@ Pooja - You are very welcome. Looking forward to the round-up!

@ Notyet - I did come by - thank you so so so much! :)

@ Cham - yes it is quite tasty!

@ Bhags - Yes, they are very warm people - I've made so many friends there. But yes, their eating habits (at least 10 years ago) was very meat-based. And it was even more apparent when I moved from there to California.